Public Administration

Overview

The Master of Public Administration program at Northeastern University has been forming leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors since 1969. It equips its students with skills in policy analysis, program evaluation, research methods, and written and verbal communications. Students also develop competencies in budgeting and human resources, organizational management and leadership, and the interplay between ethics and accountability in a diverse society.

Throughout the degree program, students gain career-oriented experience through internships, small group projects, and other interactions with professionals in the field. These experiences are designed to enable the Northeastern MPA graduate to move into a wide array of public and nonprofit sector positions at the local, state, national, and international levels. MPA students can add a graduate certificate to their degree to demonstrate specialized training in the nonprofit sector, urban analytics, urban studies, or public policy analysis. Courses taken to complete a certificate also count as MPA elective credits.

Additionally, students can concentrate in healthcare management and policy to equip themselves to better assess and act within today's complicated healthcare sector. Courses in health management, health policy, and an elective comprise the concentration. 

Career Outlook

Our MPA graduates are empowered to make a difference across disciplines and around the world. They leave Northeastern with the theoretical and fundamental understanding needed to transition into their careers and to immediately participate in and contribute to the policy process in their chosen field.

Our graduates go on to careers as town administrators, management analysts, research analysts, and program directors. A recent survey of MPA alumni concluded that 24% of recent graduates are working the nonprofit sector, 38% in the public sector, and 21% in the private sector.